Sam Wass is a psychologist and neuroscientist who studied at Oxford, London, and Cambridge. He is Professor and Director of the world-leading Institute for the Science of Early Years at the University of East London, where he currently manages research projects funded by the European Research Council, European Union, Medical Research Council UK and others which examine how diverse early life environments influence the development of attention and stress circuits in the brain. He has published over a hundred academic articles and is one of the top 2% most cited neuroscientists in his field.
He regularly appears in the media as an expert in development, and featured as an on-screen scientist in five series of the multi-award-winning Channel 4 series The Secret Life of 4-and-5-Year-Olds. He appears regularly at festivals, and in print media.
For Bloomsbury Education he has authored the multi-award-winning Take Action on Distraction: the defining guide to improving attention and focus in the Early Years and Key Stage One, and is editing a series on Putting Neuroscience into Practice for Bloomsbury Education.
Sam is on the boards of both major international developmental neuroscience committees. He chairs a working group for the Centre of Educational Neuroscience which has CEOs from all the major early years trade and professional organisations in the UK, including educators, clinicians, and charities. He regularly advises for the UK Departments of Education and Health, and NGOs including the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, charities such as Book Trust, and the National Literacy Foundation.
Sam is married with three young children – Freddie, Rose, and baby Stella. He lives in Lewes, East Sussex.